FinMin Teodorovici: I will show zero tolerance in everything that has to do with tax evasion

Minister of Public Finance Eugen Teodorovici has stated in Giurgiu on Tuesday, on the occasion of the launch of the national campaign against smuggling, that he will show zero tolerance in everything that has to do with tax evasion, and he will support the fight against cigarette smuggling, while pointing out this last objective could be better achieved if ANAF's (National Agency for Fiscal Administration) activity gets separated from that of the customs. 

"We must underscore the fact that, in the past six years, the smuggling level has dropped and this is the year with the lowest level recorded, which doesn't mean that we can stop here, on the contrary, we must get all the key factors mobilized and do this. On the other hand, considering the relation that we have with the Republic of Moldova and the figures we have available, 70 per cent of the smuggling is done on the green stripe, and we must say this because this is an area we need to pay very much attention to," said Eugen Teodorovici. 

He believes that there is need of a joint effort of the Ministry of Interior, which takes care of the border area, and the Ministry of Finance, through ANAF, which is in charge with the border checkpoints. 

Researches made on smuggling presented at the conference occasioned by the launch of the campaign showed that this year there was recorded a historical minimum of 17.3 per cent in smuggling, which is the smallest level recorded in the past 6 years, and that among the sources of illegal trade were identified brands belonging to the large cigarette companies, with stamps from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the value of the smuggled products coming through the north-eastern part of the country being the highest recorded at the national level, of 29.5 per cent. 

At the end of the action, 14 dog teams operating in airports and also along the borders made demonstrations of finding hidden cigarettes and money. 

Participating in the event were also the head of the dog team office, Alexandru Ionita, and the head of the Centre for Business and JTI Communications for Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Gilda Lazar.